Patient response really is close to 100 percent, as reported by Syneron Candela’s clinical trial, in which histological results confirmed that Profound induced the formation of new collagen, new hyaluronic acid (the substance injected in most facial “fillers”), and most importantly, new elastin in treated skin. Profound is essentially “Fractional Radiofrequency,” in which heat is delivered via tiny pairs of microneedles to the deep layer of skin called the dermis, or in the fatty tissue below the skin.

After comfortably numbing the skin with cream and local anesthetic, patients can opt to have the treatment performed to the full face and neck, or to smaller regional areas like the lower face and neck. The heat delivered by the shorter needles available causes improved skin texture, skin tightening, thickening and smoothing, as well as increased volume in areas where injectable fillers would be placed.

In addition, there are now longer needles available which can reach the fat of the jowls and neck (that “turkey waddle” we hate under the chin) to truly contour these areas much like liposuction of the face and neck. In contrast to the single-treatment option with a one-week recovery process Profound offers, Kybella neck injections must be performed as a two- or three-treatment series over six-week intervals, with several weeks of pretty significant swelling with each injection.

Kybella and other nonsurgical device treatments not only require more time to result, due to higher total numbers of treatments required, but also end up being usually more expensive when compared to Profound’s single treatment cost of $2,800 to $4,800, depending on size of the treatment area. If you compare this cost with the cost of the traditional surgical facelift/necklift — which can run anywhere from $12,000 to $15,000 — you can see why this makes patients smile.

Even though a surgical remedy for the neck remains the longest-lasting treatment option for facial and neck aging and will always be the gold standard, not everyone wants surgery. We also don’t recommend having too many facelifts in one’s lifetime in order to avoid that “over-operated look.” The fact is the neck is frequently the problem area which makes patients “pull the trigger” toward finally having facelift surgery, since I am able to keep them happy longer in the face with facial volumizing and laser treatments, which don’t typically help the neck. I am now using Profound to help patients put off the age at which they finally have that surgical lift, as well as to maintain it longer nonsurgically.

Since I am actually improving the quality of the skin with Profound, even when the patient finally has that face/necklift, the lift lasts longer due to having “youthenized” the skin quality by previous Profound treatments, hopefully allowing even the surgical facelift patient fewer surgical revisions over time. Finally, facelift surgery doesn’t improve the actual quality of the skin itself, and is rather like “making up the bed with the same bedspread” over time. Profound is as corrective as it as pre-emptive in its effects on skin quality and contouring of the face and neck.

Here is a typical before and after Profound result to consider. The patient is shown pre-treatment, at two months, and at six months. Note the improved skin tone and texture, increased volume in the cheeks and nasolabial folds outside the mouth, reduced fat of the jowls and neck, and overall skin tightening. Recovery is limited to one week of swelling, mild bruising and tiny bumps on the skin’s surface from the needles, which quickly resolve with skin moisturization. I also have been using various growth factors and PRP in the immediate post-treatment period to assist with an improved drug delivery system for these products through the needle holes, as well as to hasten healing from Profound.

And finally, the longer needles are now our favorite single-treatment option for nonsurgical correction of nonfacial skin laxity and cellulite…the topic of a future story to watch for here as we get ready for spring…

GOBBLE ON, but go light on the gravy!!!